Simon Cowell, Howard Stern tied atop Forbes 'highest paid' list

The ratings gap between cable and broadcast TV shows keeps shrinking. This season, many hit series on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have slumped to record lows. But cable shows are at or near all-time highs. A few examples:

Simon Cowell and Howard Stern may have radically different backgrounds, but both sit at judges' tables on reality competition shows, and they are tied atop Forbes magazine's list of the highest-paid TV personalities.

According to Forbes, Cowell and Stern each earned $95 million between June 2012 and June 2013. In a bizarre coincidence, some of Stern's money is coming from Cowell (or at least a show Cowell owns a piece of).

Stern, known mostly for his satellite radio show on Sirius, is also a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent," a competition series of which Cowell is an executive producer.

In fact, Cowell owns a stake in the global "Got Talent" franchise, which includes "Britain's Got Talent," "Australia's Got Talent" and even the upcoming "Afghanistan's Got Talent." Although he no longer appears on Fox's faltering juggernaut "American Idol," he owns a piece of Fox singing competition "The X Factor."

Just below them on the list is Glenn Beck, another personality whose fortune comes from diversification, with his own Internet TV station, website, books and a radio program. He earned an estimated $90 million in the last year.